According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans own nearly 3 billion electronic products, and every year 1.5 million tons of waste from these devices ends up in landfills. Many experts have argued that with better technology, planning and foresight this waste stream can be diverted into recycling and remanufacturing programs that can both reduce environmental impact and spur economic development in sustainable industries.

The opportunities and challenges inherent in E-waste recycling and reuse will be the topic of “The Truth, Tragedy and Transformation of E-Waste” by Willie Cade, president of PC Rebuilders & Recyclers. The event will be held at 3 p.m. Feb. 10 in the Xerox Auditorium at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Cade founded PC Rebuilders in 2000 and since then the organization has refurbished over 40,000 computers, which it has donated to schools and not-for-profit agencies.

His presentation, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability and the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences.